Street Photography: Christopher Agou internet research

Christopher Agou internet research:

Notes from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christophe_Agou

· 1. self-taught and grew up in Forez, France

· 2.moved to new York in 1992

· 3. was eventually recognised for his work in the new York city subway

· 4. published ‘life below’ in 2004 which contained his subway work

· 5. his work is held in collections all around the world, for example ‘Bibliotheque nationale de France’ in Paris

· 6.Was nominated and mentioned in various award ceremonies and won the ‘European publishers award of photography’ for his project ‘face au silence’ in 2010.

Christophe Agou published his ‘life below’ which was a portrayal of the New York city subway. This was a very revealing collection of pictures that captured the zombie like state of passengers from close quarters. I have particularly focused my research on this collection which I think portrays the subway to be a quite sinister place because the pictures are very dark, the expressions on the people’s faces are quite terrifying in some of the pictures. It’s like he was waiting for the person he’s shooting to break into a sad or mean face. One of the things you notice when you’re looking at his work is the amazing effect the light has on the outcome of the pictures. Because it’s underground in a train the only source of light is coming from two narrow pole like bulbs that run down the centre of the coach, therefore the light creates deep contrast which gives the effect of studio lighting.

These two are my favourite pictures because the lighting is fantastic in them and is a fundamental part of the success of the picture. The light in the picture at the top draws your attention to her eyes and because of the angle of the light puts her left side in shadow. Because her eyes are so defined you can’t ignore them and they give you the feeling that she is tired and maybe lonely. This next picture uses the light that’s reflected of the metal panel that’s behind the person. To get this effect he’s set his camera to spot metering and set the exposer so it’s perfect for the area at the top of his hood or maybe just under exposed, just below the bleached out area. This achieved the blacked out face. I think this effect is great because it really gives it the edgy and sinister look that he’s looking for and what you would expect from the New York city subway.